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The Provisional IRA
Bishop, Patrick. The provisional IRA. London, Heinemann, 1987. Large Octavo. 374 pages. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Name of preowner on endpaper. Fanatic Hearts / The Roots of Republicanism / Civil Rights / The Return of the Troubles / August 1969 / The Birth of the Provisionals / Bombing Britain / Armed Propaganda / etc.
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Patrick Bishop
73 books66 followersPatrick Bishop was born in London in 1952 and went to Wimbledon College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Before joining the Telegraph he worked on the Evening Standard, the Observer and the Sunday Times and in television as a reporter on Channel Four News. He is the author with John Witherow of a history of the Falkands War based on their own experiences and with Eamon Mallie of The Provisional IRA which was praised as the first authoritative account of the modern IRA. He also wrote a memoir the first Gulf War, Famous Victory and a history of the Irish diaspora The Irish Empire, based on the TV series which he devised.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 9, 2020
I think the first thing to say about this book is that due to its publication in the late 80s, it necessarily doesn't cover all of the history of the Provisional IRA. It closes at the end of 1987, with the aftermath of the Enniskillen bombing haunting the armed campaign, and the results of the abstentionist split still hovering over the political campaign.
The book does an excellent job of examining and illustrating the tensions and oppositions within both the IRA and the republican movement more broadly. Marxist vs Nationalist, Catholics vs Secularists, Rural vs Urban, Southern vs Northern, Military vs Electoral; the list is rather long. I do think that an improvement could have been made in more closely looking at how the PIRA (and of course Sinn Féin) came to adopt a more socialist politics as whilst this is hinted at, nothing particularly concrete is ever drawn out.
The content on prisons and the relations between the PIRA and the prison system is some of the best in the book. In part this is because the PIRA made inventive use of prisons, but this is amplified by the use of the testimony of imprisoned volunteers to describe what life was like inside the cages.
I do think the book could be improved by splitting it up in sections. The text flows perhaps too well and I often found myself a tad confused as to where the text was chronologically.
All in all this is a good work of history and something I would recommend.
The book does an excellent job of examining and illustrating the tensions and oppositions within both the IRA and the republican movement more broadly. Marxist vs Nationalist, Catholics vs Secularists, Rural vs Urban, Southern vs Northern, Military vs Electoral; the list is rather long. I do think that an improvement could have been made in more closely looking at how the PIRA (and of course Sinn Féin) came to adopt a more socialist politics as whilst this is hinted at, nothing particularly concrete is ever drawn out.
The content on prisons and the relations between the PIRA and the prison system is some of the best in the book. In part this is because the PIRA made inventive use of prisons, but this is amplified by the use of the testimony of imprisoned volunteers to describe what life was like inside the cages.
I do think the book could be improved by splitting it up in sections. The text flows perhaps too well and I often found myself a tad confused as to where the text was chronologically.
All in all this is a good work of history and something I would recommend.
Displaying 1 of 1 review